Forrest Lee Baker

Dr. Baker is an Assistant Research Professor in the School of Nutritional Sciences and Wellness (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences) at the University of Arizona. He completed his B.S in Kinesiology with a minor in Biology from Southwestern University in 2013 and received his PhD in Kinesiology, with an exercise immunology focus, from the University of Houston in 2020. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Arizona. His main research agenda focuses on innate and adaptive immune responses to exercise within the context of cancer immunotherapies. Major research interests include (1) understanding the role of exercise and models of acute stress on the mobilization, ex vivo expansion, and anti-tumor activity of γδ T-cells, (2) developing novel methods for the manufacture of innate and adaptive immune cells to treat hematological malignancies and solid tumors, (3) examining the interplay between exercise and oncolytic viral therapy in combination with chemotherapy or checkpoint inhibitors, and (4) determining the impact of physical activity on immune reconstitution in patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation. Dr. Baker is a member of the International Society of Exercise Immunology (ISEI), American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT).